“I was bummed, but the only reason I was bummed was just because of how much I was pushed to fight Shane. Because of my knee surgery, my doctor said I shouldn’t fight until like February or March, and I kind of got pushed into it… That’s the reason why it hurts, more than anything, is just the fact that I was pushed into something that I really didn’t want to do but was going to do just because you don’t want to hear the ‘Are you an f-ing fighter?’ speech. Everybody knows, you never fight 100%, but it was an opportunity and I was more than willing to jump on the opportunity… I’m always down to fight a legend of the sport. Or give me any of the other 28 [heavyweights] who are on the UFC roster. …I have no idea who I’ll fight next. I might be fighting The Undertaker in the Royal Rumble, you never know.”

—Roy Nelson talking to MMA Fighting about being bumped off the UFC 125 card after Shane Carwin withdrew to have neck and back surgery

I can’t blame him, I’d be bummed and probably a little pissed too if I was put in a similar situation. Roy should look at it on the bright side though. While having his strings constantly pulled by the UFC undoubtedly sucks, at least he can count on getting another fight in a timely manner. That’s not something he could say if he was fighting for the competition. Not to mention, now he gets the proper time to nurse his knee back to health. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise.

Update: Maybe this will cheer Roy Nelson up. According to The Wrestling Observer (via BE), Brock Lesnar wants to fight Roy Nelson next. Apparently, Lesnar wants to be tested and thinks Nelson would give him the challenge he is looking for. The only problem is it sounds like the UFC wants Lesnar vs. Mir III and plans to offer that to Lesnar first. We’ll have to wait and see what happens, but Lesnar vs. Nelson gets my vote over Lesnar vs. Mir III.